Arizona silver belt., 1887-08-27

hD bllS llIlO ASNiAAS1 'e-S bhAAAlA high against Reavis and his 'claim, , and public meeting was held at tht Court House in the city of Pheniz and the initial steps taken to expose it's fraudulent character. So hot did it become that the "Baron" found il conducive to his health to leave town within two days, and has not since been seen in Phoenix. So sudden and abrupt was his departure that he even forgot to llquIdate his bill at the hotel-a trife of $500 which still remains unpaid.
 Whatever steps the people might have taken Tn proving the utter falsity of Reavls' claims, were brought to a sudden te imitation by an order from the Interior Department to the Terri torial Surveyor-General. This order was signed by Gen. Sparks, and, among other things, said: "It is my opinion that the futile work in which you have been engaged for a year and half in the direction of investigating the al- legged claim, which, from your own statement of its uncorroborated char acter, has not been placed before you in condition to be entitled to consid- eration, should forthwith be discon- tinued." Also, "the so-called grant lacks the essential foundation of a recognizable claim under the laws of Spain and the treaties and laws of the United States" General Sparks fur ther added that the government had made "careful research" among the archives of Mexico and Madrid, but no records relating to any such claim as the Peralta grant were discovered. This official order fairly knocked the bottom out of the so-called grant, and people here were beginning to forget all about it and its cheeky claimant until his recent reappearance in the California newspapers.
 In the interview published in the Herald, Reavis states that he was mar red to the Baroness" in 1882; not wIthstanding the statement, many of your readers will remember his futile attempt to enter into matrimonial re- lations with an estimable lady of your I county in 1885. He even wenfso far as to procure marriage Incense, as suming that she would not think of refusing so distinguished an individ- uaI as the Baron of the Colorades. !" But the lady evidently dld not appre- ciate the intended homer, and in pub lished card in one of your city papers positively declined, and even alluded to J. Addison as crank whose head was turned by hls mythical Arizona land claim. This fact is mentioned to show that Reavis has no hesitancy to fill the role of the blgamist, for if, as he states, he married the "Baroness" in 1882, he could not wed Miss Bridger in 1885, without being guilty of that offence. But this to man who has sworn 10 certain things which were not true would be merely a trivial consideration. Reavis now asserts that he is acting as agent for the Baron ess, and has no interest whatever Tn the so-called grant" himself. This IS an entire change of front from his former statement that the title was in in himself and he recelved it from the widow of George N. Willing.
 This would-be sharper was forced into his present position by the trans parent weakness of the so-ealled title from Mrs. Willing. After securing such title he made the discovery that under the Missouri law as it then ex- isted, she only had a life interest in the estate of her deceased husband, and that at her death her claim to the ''grant" would. dle with her. Upon learning this, Raavis set about at once to remedy this fatal defect. He hunt ed up an old power of attorney given !
 by "Doc" Willing to one F. A. Massol, dated May 11th, 1864, and in which MasSol is authorized by Willing to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of cer- tain mining claims owned by the lat ter. Having secured this document by deed from Massol, Reavis had ln- serted by interlineation, the so-called "Peralta grant" thus making it ap- pear that Willing had given control of that mythical property to Massol. But fraud agaln overreached itself and the bogus Baron" instead of mending his title, made it appear still worse; for it is on record that the deed from Peralta to Wiling is dated De- tober 20th, 1864, while the power of attorney from Willing to Massel bears date of May 11th, 1864, or more than five months before Willing had any claim whatever to the so-called grant" ......
 The title defect in his alleged title from Willing, Reavis now tries to oet over by the introduction of the "Bar-